Airborne- Official Blog

Penang Bridge International Marathon 2010

2010-11-26T08:15:00.000-08:00

After the 12.3, sights were firmly set on The Penang Bridge International Half Marathon. It was honestly a close to impossible thing if I must be honest. I was a little terrified as 12.3km to 21km was a big jump. To make matters worse, i have been training and running NOMINALLY doing usually 8km at most from the busy roster, never 10 or 12.3 or even close to 21. Hence the fear. This one was an even special feeling as i had close to ZERO encouragement. I’m grateful for everyone close to me and how supportive they are. Not particularly this one. There was a lot of pessimism and doubt.

The typical Malaysian negativity shat on my parade. People telling me things even I haven’t thought of!- ‘’You don’t come from from a sports family’’, ‘’Youre not an athlete to run 21km’’. ‘’The others are seasoned runners, youre not’’, ‘’Youre a pilot, not a runner’’ Basically every piece of (please excuse my French), bullshit from the bag was pulled out...Funny thing is I thought to myself, How hard can it be? I have 2 legs, if others can do it, I surely can. Whats the worse that could happen? Injury? Sprained ankles? walk to the finish? One thing was sure, I don’t EVER want to look back and regret not doing this. Again, you just shut up and get on with it. I got a plane to Penang..

My old friend Chu was running as well together with some friends of his I’ve gotten to meet from the other runs, and some new ones here too. Was really nice of everyone to take me in and make me feel part of the gang. They are really cool people! Had some fun the day before the race. Good food. Nice places. Bunked in Sany’s apartment.
Anyway race morning, woke up at 1.15am. Had to leave for the race course at 2am. Got there at 2.40am..Some warm up and before we knew it, we were away!

Had a pretty easy start at 3AM, ran slow initially. We had thousands running around so it was pretty easy to trip over someone or even block the faster runners. I just kept my pace. 2.7kms passed, got into a flow. Felt ‘lubricated’. As we ran up the ramp entering the Penang Bridge, could see some spectators taking photographs. There was a a water station for every 2 or 3km which helped alot as its easy to feel hot or dehydrated during a run, drank the right amounts for the pitstops and continued. Felt sad to see some folks already at the Medic’s stand with pain. Some guy sat on the road sweating in pain. Its very easy to run too fast or even too slow. Run too fast and try and overtake people and you tire yourself out for the long distance. Run too slow and you start to cool down and legs start to feel heavy and it becomes tougher with cramps etc. So it was about keeping a balance. Knowing your limit and tone things down when it gets painful or tiring. And then things got interesting..

IT STARTED TO DRIZZLE!- Initially i thought it was a light one as we were over the sea...As we neared the middle of the bridge (the slanted poles part), it POURED HEAVY RAIN!!, it was a pretty cool feeling your body doesn’t feel hot anymore, it feels comfortable, but the wet shoes and socks inside makes it feel like your jumping on a wet bed. It makes the leg feel heavier and vision becomes an issue too as the rain kept getting into my eyes and it moves the contact lenses around making vision quite blurry and it burns a little. Plus was starting to get worried my phone(or my mp3 player in this case) wrapped around my armband was wet and there was a risk i’d screw it up. There was no choice. 15kms to go! Pushed on. Stopped at water stations to drink(half water half rain water), the bread stand was nice, bread was soaked in water and become ‘’one’’ with the wooden tables which they were placed on hahaha, so that was a pass. There were also stations where the RedCross people would spray some ‘’aerosol muscle thing’’ on your leg to ease pain or cramps. In my case it helped because the legs began hurting just before half distance where we took a U-turn after the 70% mark of the bridge to head back. Rain got worse. I lost one side of my earphones from all the water that went in. To make things worse, my knees started to hurt. My left cuff and my right knee hurt the most. So started to run with more force on the less painful leg and when it got bad, i switched to the other leg and vice versa. We neared the end of the bridge and this time knees really hurt bad, lower back was irritating as well. The hips felt funny. I knew i had like 6 or 7kms to go so stopped running, brisked walked, then picked up the pace, slow jog, fast jog, run etc. Got out of the bridge into this flyover, another U-turn water station..Ice station!(They put bags of ice around your leg to ease the sore muscles)..With 4km to go..knees were pretty screwed! Saw some guys being treated in closed door ambulance. Pain was at its worse at this point. Both legs were bad. I think i was running with my waist and heels!..And then i saw the sign ‘’Half Marathon 18.3KM’’..I had 2.7ks to go!! By this time we were already running for 2 hrs 35mins. 10 minutes later Chu calls me ‘’Oiii..where are you la??, come on Jon 2 km, all the way man, come on’’. I ran a steady pace and it started to get better for me. Within minutes i saw the road leading up to the finish, the adrenalin built up even more, started running faster and all i could think of was the finish..Turned the corner and in the distance..There it was a giant Yellow Arch(with the word DIGI on it)...counted 1...2...3..Took deeper breaths and ran a sprint as fast as i could go. Felt my thighs vibrate. My cheeks were going up and down hahaha,The pain felt numb at this point. I screamed till i crossed the finish line...And there it was..6.01AM. – My timing was 3hours 1minute!. I finished within the 3.30mins time. I qualified for a medal! Felt such a relief.

Felt really good walking into the FINISHER’s stand to collect my medal. DID IT!! The pain was a different story. My phone died and so did the earphones. Good timing. It was unbelievable, I probably finished behind quite alot of people, i was just so grateful i had this chance to do it. Would have been easy to be like the rest and play it safe and not try. I mean hey everyone's got to start somewhere. And We were there, In with a chance. Able to live it and not just daydream. Felt so fulfilled to finally finish my first 21km half marathon in only my 3rd Real race event.

What we do is defined by the boundaries within which we restrict ourselves. A firm reminder that WE CAN DO ANYTHING WE SET OUR MINDS TO. I went for it because I knew I could. The one person you need to believe in most, is yourself. I am so glad i did this. Determined to do even better on my next run!

I appreaciate you taking the time to read this. Thank you very much :)

Running

2010-08-11T09:03:00.001-07:00

4 years ago I started running to be fit enough to fly the plane. It did help to lose weight, was 75kilos but i was not happy as i gave up easily and believe me, it was tough! To maintain a pace let alone go any faster than walking. Have to say a good buddy of mine was an inspiration to me. He ran 20kms and even the full 42 marathon! I had the ambition in me but like many things in life, its easier to dream than to go balls on and do it.

My first run. June 13th 2010. Subang Jaya 10k run. It was the first time in my life ive trained for something like that. All along it was brisk walks on the treadmill n burgers afterward but this time I felt pretty determined. 1hr 18mins on my first race. Its a start n was better than expected! Now that was 2 months ago..

Fresh off my second run on the 31st of July. The MensHealth Shape Run. 12.3kilometres nightrun. In scenic Putrajaya. The scenery was sweet! The lights at night. The police cars holding the traffic. Ambulances going past. A stage with some deejays and local celebs, a carnival with lots of stands and interesting bits of things happening. Some music playing, it was like going to a concert.

-Race flagged off at 8pm. Got off to a steady start with alot of guys overtaking me. Its easy to try and run faster and keep up. But its not 2 or 3km, its 12.3. Im not tge fastest guy in the lot. I just did the pace i trained with and the last thing you would want is to start walking half way in the race and start yawning and throw it out tge window. This run though, was much better. Kept tge pace. Speed was ok 9km/h. Made sure i splashed and dashed at every water stand and before i knew it i saw the distance to go at 9km . 5km, 4, 3 etc.. We passed the lighted 'Penang Bridge' of Putrajaya. Some people on bikes. There were uphills downhills. After a while the body gets to a crusing mode but towards the closing stages the mind becomes an idiot and youre let to believe youre tired, I was really dying to see the start finish straight. Legs were sore. Knees felt pretty wobbly, the sweat starts flowing going into your eyes and even that burns! It starts to get tough to keep earphones on as the sweat keeps slipping it off. Then i saw 3km to go. The longest 2km of my life. Started going pass quite a number of tired peopIe ahead of me. Finally i turned the corner n recognised the buildings leading up to the finish straight.

The main straight was in sight. I closed my eyes. and just ran my heart out sprinting to the finish. Its just knuckle down do or die. Dont know how many guys i overtook. The cheering spectators really got it flowing. Screamed past the finish clocked 1hr 31mins. The music really helped haha

I finished behind my group of friends. Those guys n girls were quick! Wouldve been nice to finish closer or ahead but its only the 2nd race. Its not about competing, Its about challenging yourself. And This proves you can do anything you set your mind to. Penang Bridge run November!

Back!

2010-07-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

Yes my friends it has been donkeys years since i last blogged! I put it down to being intensely busy and mostly lazy.

Whats been up? Well PLENTY! Life has transformed. My quest in dreaming and chasing dreams continues in my persuit of wisdom and self discovery.

In the past few months not only have I grown as a person but i guess you really discover who you really are and what you've got in you.

Flying, be it my day job continues to amaze me in everyway. A year ago i became a First Officer. 2 bars. 1 year later, i'm chasing my 3rd bar and for a new license, the ATPL(Airline Transport Pilot License). The journey has not been easy. I can tell you that i've not had a perfect flight, though each time i put on my tie heading to work i look at the guy in the mirror and constantly tell myself i am going to be as perfect as perfect can be. It never turns out to be. Theres always that extra mile you find you can do, you improve on knowledge. For knowledge is power in this industry.

Flying isnt all about slapping on a nice uniform, wearing a huge hat with Oakleys and being paid a big salary(not so the Co pilots but you work bloody hard for every cent you earn). And If anyone out there thinks glamour, then clearly you are an ignorant idiot. Theres much more effort and dedication that goes on with this job. Beneathe all that foliage, lies responsibility, passion, precision, hope and above all, the lives of those we carry. Its more of an oath.

Thoughts at 30000ft

-Where am I?
-Am i late am i early?Am i saving fuel or burning more?if im burning more somethings not right, but if im saving lots then it could be the fuel reading is jammed
-If the engine fails, whats the plan?where do i go?left of right?do i have weather? What are suitable diversions?Do i have enough fuel to divert?What height do i descend to?Whats the highest terrain in the area?
-Have i got the latest airfield data?VOLMET(Airborne weather report)?
-If i divert HERE, will we have ground support?
-What was our last clearance and are we sticking to it?
-WHat speed do i descend?can i expect track shortening?am i high?am i low on profile?do i need more drag to slow us down?
-Are my crew and passengers doing alright?is it too cold in the cabin?are they comfortable?

The points from above are just few of the many things that run in the mind of a pilot and lately perfecting all of those is a lot of work. After all, if this is going to be your ricebowl, you might as well be good at it right?

One more area that i've become more accustomed to is the understanding of operating an airline. Each and every member of our team plays a very important part. From the Ramp guys who load and unload luggage/cargo to even the cabin crew. Dont get me started with the dispatchers who do a good job with our documentations and ensuring the logistical challenges of handling over 70 aircraft. They are the unsung heroes. Organising parking bays, cargo loads, movement patterns, aircraft rotations is not an easy task. That does not include delays and technical problems! Sure in the end its the pilot who gets the plane from A to B but the next time you see a baggage handler or even an engineer, think about the work that goes in behind the scenes getting an aircraft airborne. RESPECT!

Then theres the balancing the rest of your life with family, friends and your other goals in life. Its a different challenge altogether and i guess all of this brings you wisdom and for a 22 year old, i sometimes feel like i am 40!

Few months back i decided to become a runner and get mysrlf into a couple of 'marathons'. Its a huge challenge and dare i say it as hard as flying itself as its challenging physically, mentally and a real test to will power. Tomorrow 31st July 2010, i'll be running my second race. 12.3 kms. On my next post,i'll be writing ALL about it. Wish me luck!

octnov

2009-11-15T02:49:00.000-08:00

An update,

Well its been a really hectic and busy past month and yes I do realize its been more than a month since I last blogged. October was smooth and had quite a number of interesting flights. Lessons learnt include the PEOPLE factor in aviation as well as coping with your inner self and motivation as well (lets face it, if we are not motivated, we cant do anything)

The rostering problem I had last month surely did not help. It was a mix up. People do their best to do a good job for us as well, but no ones perfect and as a team we back one another. Long story cut short I was put on standby for most of the month. It was a little messed up but a little exciting as you never know if you would get a phone call the next moment telling you that youre gonna fly people to India!

I had a chance to experience a really interesting colleague as well. This one probably more interesting than the rest but a few days later you realise, you don’t really have bright and nice days everyday and necessarily meet the right people and sometimes its up to us to hold on with patience and put our passengers first and work with the rest of the crew to salvage a good day. It’s a thorn amongst the roses. A really ugly one which in the future I’d not want to be like or even close to.

PEOPLE factor. Its about being humble and willing to work together. Being the boss means guiding a team not being authoritative and condemn inferiorities. WHO cares how much money you make?!- we are all going to make the same eventually anyway. People will make mistakes and that’s how they will learn. Everyone has a right to an opinion the least we could do is to respect and advise should the need arise and not condemn a younger counterpart. Simplicity and humbleness. Being in the military doesn’t make anyone a god. Respect is earned and not given. I could go on and on. But deep inside I am really glad I met this one. Thought me the kind of leader and captain I would never want to be. Things like this affect your confidence but invariably you get over it become even stronger. There are some positives to it and its all a learning curve.

I got to fly to Dhaka, Bangladesh this month and what an interesting flight we had. A great captain, good bunch of girls working with us and a new experience. Its just like any other flight but it’s the longest I’ve been on a plane(technically). More than 4 hours across time zones and the weather was cool as well. Our route took us toward the northern side of peninsula Malaysia into Penang, Langkawi and then towards the north toward Thailand, Yangon and into Bangladesh. There was even a point where there was no radio signal! Got to experience the busy Bangla Airspace as well as different airlines going on and about. As we descended toward Dhaka, you could see mountains, hills, some of the terrain, cars, buildings. There is something about visiting different countries. The buildings are always different and it gives you this vibe ‘’holy crap this is cool!’’. The runway is long and the air traffic controller is somewhat interesting. Found his accent funny. I flew back to Malaysia and it was a sunset departure. Took a picture. Its just beautiful climbing through clouds when you reach this bed-like cloud base and all you can see is the sun shining upon it. Theres this glow and immediately it reminds you of how beautiful this world is. The captain was a cool dude as well. He runs marathons and flies the Airbus A330 as well! Great sharing knowledge and learning all the time. Good flight.

Been on good form lately and been working on my fitness as well at the pool and back at the gym as well. The aim as always is to learn as much as I can, to work harder and making every flight safer, more efficient, profitable and above all working with the team to make it a better experience for our guests and for the Airline. Will blog soon.

Base check.

2009-10-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

Been a busy and pretty hectic past few weeks of September and what do you know, its already October! Its eye opening, its brain popping, its turbulence packed and my all time favorite- MIND BLASTING!

I had my base check about 3 weeks ago and there is a lot to say on that but I prefer to tone it down a little, right, the BASE CHECK.

BASE CHECK.

Its simply an exam us commercial pilots take once every 6 months to revalidate our license and to re-hone our skills in the airplane. Only, we don’t do it ina real airplane, we do it in a simulator. A ‘box’ which houses an actual aircraft cockpit and its mounted on hydraulic jacks which move about all the axis a drunk man can imagine. It has air conditioning like the actual aircraft, it has sound, it has images projected infront of the windscreen and it tilts left right up and down.

Its pretty similar to how I first started my career at Airasia, but only this time it was with higher expectations and a slightly modified programme. It was split into 2 days, the LOFT(Line orientated flight training) and CofT(Certificate of test). LOFT is slightly different than that lovely club down at Heritage row, we don’t go there to sip on cocktails and look at good looking men, but instead we practice an actual passenger flight with a few failures thrown to us. Oh, and we simulate these conditions at foreign airspace, in Taipei. THE OBJECTIVE?-To see how we, the crew perform these procedures. So here it is. THE LOFT.

1- Practise actual take off, aircrafts rolling down the runway, we take off and we encounter windshear(Dangerous wind blowing down, up, right, left everywhere) after take off. Our job, put maximum power on the engines and maneuver out of the storm into ‘stable’ air.
2- We then climb to our cruising altitude n are told to maintain a lower altitude simulating busy air traffic control with dense traffic and practice avoiding a mid-air collision with another aircraft.
3- We lose a few vital systems on the aircraft and are expected to carry out procedures
4- We solve that problem and then another one comes in, 1 of the engines are about to fail. Procedural event, decision making and eventually diverting to land at the nearest airport
5- It is found that the aircraft is above our max landing weight and we cant dump fuel so therefore having to perform an overweight landing and the alternate airport, Kaohshiung.
6- We land in Kaohshiung and after landing the main landing gear fails and aircraft collapses on the runway drifting towards the bushes next to the airport. The objective is to see how we initiate a passenger evacuation.

C OF T.

Pretty similar to the LOFT but with more failure and with more raw flying into play. As the autopilot and autothrust fails. Basically flying a modern commercial aircraft based on those backup gauges you see and with engine failures. Landing with one engine inoperative and aborted landing with 1 engine. The objective is to check the skill of the pilot in handling and flying an aircraft in all conditions as well as getting it back on ground safely.

The most important thing to take out of this is making it SAFER for the passengers whose lives we strive to carry and protect.

I can tell you none of those 2 sessions were EASY, but it went well. Going into it was a sense of nervousness and anxiety. Plus it was my first base check. Got positive feedback and learnt even more about flying. The captain told me ‘’a pilots job is a never ending learning curve, its huge responsibility and way different from any other job, its one that commands respect and peoples lives are in your hands’’ And that flying is the safest mode of transport.

Its more than a dream come true, its a responsibility and its gotten spiritual now(dont laugh). Making your lives safer in the skies.

VHHH/HKG

2009-09-06T06:05:00.000-07:00

Monday- KUL-Hong Kong-KUL

Its been a long time coming and finally its here, The airport is known to be busy AND with some strong winds on approach. Pretty scenic with quite a bit of terrain and a bustling city beneathe those mountains also sorrounded by sea. It will be amazing to sense the atmosphere there especially it being the home base of Cathay Pacific and to see all the big guns and their aircrafts. The terminal building is simply huge and it’s a work of art really.
I last went to Hong Kong as a passanger on MAS A330, so this will be a childhood dream-come-true as i get to pilot the A320 there.

Departing 7AM initially towards the eastern side and there after treking north being alongside Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh before heading into chinese airspace thru Haikou. Hopefully our guests turn out ok with no delays and air traffic being kind to us and with good weather. The aim as always is to get there as smoothly as possible and ON TIME. I am very much looking forward to tomorrows flight. (And to see an A380)

Merdeka!

2009-08-31T08:53:00.000-07:00

During the cruise today it dawned on me the significance and meaning of MERDEKA. Even as a child, merdeka was one of those special days I’d be looking forward to. I went to a government school and patriotism was high above anything else. It was a moral value. Then it just brought back many memories of how we go about celebrating and embracing this spirit of patriotism.

NEGARAKU - I think its absolutely paramount for every government in the world to instill a spirit and sense of Patriotism to all of its people starting as early as Kindergarden. This will be with them through out their lives and ultimately be passed down to the children of tomorrow. Its also a pure form of motivation no matter what race or beliefs you may have.

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME- The world as we know it is a beautiful place. With many nations, countries across civilization and culture. At the end of the day, I think nothing beats your own country. This place continues to amaze me. For instance we have our own culture, our own thing going on. We are one of the very few nations whose people speak more than 3 languages. English, Bahasa Malaysia and a native language. Be it Bahasa Melayu, Tamil, Hindi, Cantonese, Mandarin etc. We hold strong to our roots.

ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL- This is one of my favorites and its actually the best part of being Malaysian. We celebrate everything. Eid Mubarak(Hari Raya) is not only celebrated by Muslims, but also by those of other faiths. Its always amazing to go to an open house let alone try different foods of gastronomic proportions! Chinese New Year, regardless of being Chinese, you get angpow! Deepavali or Diwali. The festival of lights always tends to bring many people together in a cultural fusion of lights, food and style. And it doesn’t stop there, when each of these occasions are public holidays we not only celebrate our respective culture, but we celebrate a NATION with one common BELIEVE. We are Malaysian.

I applaud and support the Prime Minister's concept of ONE Malaysia. I think its been instilled in us for all our lives. As long as there is respect, courtesy, tolerance, understanding and compromise. This will bridge differences and encourage open communication and a free flow of exchanging ideas which I believe will take us to greater heights to do more, aim higher and who knows!-The sky is the limit.

RESPECT to our leaders, people in service and our teachers. Our Athletes who have done us proud and who strived to make a name for not themselves, but for theyre families and for our country.

Last but not least, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Independence day. H1N1 might have scaled it down abit but patriotism is in the heart of every Malaysian. Ask not what your country can do for you, but rather; ask what YOU can do for your country. ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL.

MERDEKA!!

My Weeks in pictures

2009-08-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

6

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1

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Szx etc

2009-07-17T00:25:00.000-07:00

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Its been 4 off days and already I’m itching to get back up there. I tell my friends that 4 off days in a row are just miserable and they tell me ‘’dude, you’re an idiot’’. It is true that anyone would appreciate any number of off days they get but I’m not everyone. Perhaps I’m still young and filled with energy that someday I mite just say ‘ok I’m going to relax and hang out a little. That day has not come and I don’t see it happening anytime soon. For now theres lots in the head and in mind, it’s a busy place!

The past 2 weeks have been just fantastic at work. Briefings are now off the cuff and flight planning is done in more detail, been working on my PA’s as well as getting to know the systems much better and getting to handling the 320 a little sweeter. I think I’m slowly finding the soft spot and it’s a good feeling to be on any flight now. Take offs are better and so is the landing. The trip to Trichy was amazing. Shenzen was cool, especially going into Chinese airspace where they use metres instead of feet. It’s a different experience and a bigger buzz. Here what went down whilst walking from the Flight Ops to the immigration before heading to the aircraft

Capt: Your first time to Shenzen?
Me: Yes Capt, the weather and notams look good so we should be in good shape today
Capt: Ok la..U take her to Shenzen and I’ll fly her back
Me: (holy crap) *Grins* Wokay

It was excitement and a tiny bit of nervousness to be honest as a friend I had telephoned the night before told me that we have health checks and what air traffic procedures to expect. Basically there were procedures in place and the winds there are quite strong. Thoughts about when do I configure?Is it bumpy on the approach? It went quite well and though the flight was long it was nice. One passenger asked me ‘’why is the front part of the aircraft colder than the back?’’. I told him all temp zones were almost equal and the temp is the same. Also he asked me ‘’Is it because there is an oven infront to heat up our food”..I said, No Sir. Went into the flight deck to ask Captain and he went ‘’it’s the same’’ –Its always amazing to meet different passengers and what better way to sharpen up our attention to detail than with questions being asked. The flight went good with some minor bumps along the route near Ho Chi Minh FIR. The approach was a little long because we were being radar vectored to land at Shenzen and picture this..we had a speed requirement which basically called for flaps and I think we burnt like 120kg extra on fuel. They give priority to their own aircraft and they speak in CHINESE! Its hard butting in on the radio as you do not know if theyre done. But anyways..on the final approach it was cool, the aircraft was a little bumpy as the winds were up and down. The sea is towards the left so there is uneven heating leading to some winds on approach. It felt awesome to counter the wind at the same time making it smooth enough for the folks at the back. The landing was normal, nothing too soft but was quite pleased.

Lets see, what else do I have to write…OO yeah flying with 2 Iraqi Captains! It was amazing because the other guy was to observe the flight, Captain Hamid Al Zubaidy and Captain Safa. Both with heaps of experience and both were from MAS :p hahah..I did the best job I could and was lucky enough to share information and brief Capt Safa on the flight about our operations on the line. He is a quick learner and was an absolute joy to hear his stories from the previous airlines and aircrafts. Qatar, MAS etc. I shared my interest in Arabic music as well during the cruise and they were a little amused I knew some of the artists and loved theyre food.(I should have suggested we go to Tarbush someday for dinner haha). I followed him through the loadsheet and boy was he quick! My loadsheet and trim time was about 4 mins..he did it in almost the same time. Interesting flight and learnt even more about our aircraft and about how to be better airmen. At the end of every flight, the handshake and compliments and advice are just so valuable as they bring more confidence and feedback to further improve.

Tomorrow its back to work with Phuket and Kota Bharu and on Sunday will be doing Ma-COW! I feel fully rested and rejuvenated and cant wait to get back to the rush, that feeling of being in control of an airliner again. The passengers, the crew the air traffic control, the paperwork:p hahaha.

There are bits of life away from flying that need a little adapting, how you divide your time and how you plan etc. Everydays a learning curve and its exciting. The toughest part is not giving up on things you cant fix, but rather adapting to it. I feel determined to rise above it all. Base check is next month. For now its tomorrows flight, Second Officer Faiz will be coming along to observe.

Saturday: Kuala Lumpur-Phuket-Kuala Lumpur- Kota Bharu-Kuala Lumpur + family dinner before heading back home early to be in bed extra early for Ma-COW!
Sunday: Kuala Lumpur-MaCOW! + Dinner with an idol I look up to. Cant wait to meet the man.

Everything can be better and I’m not gonna stop pushing. Determined.
Have a pleasant weekend everyone.

I;m told that despite the iphone and twitter I dont update them often. Starting tmr will blog after EVERY flight on twitter.

Twitter.com/jsolomon320

wisdom

2009-06-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

Finally blogging after turning 21. Does it make a difference? Do I feel better? YES and HELL YEAH. I think the things we fear most and the gut feeling we have, no matter how we try and prevent and not think about, actually comes true in one way or another. Whether if it’s a side of you that people never see, to even that thought or as some of you folks call it, de ja vu. Its amazingly scary when it does come true. But based on 21 years, I can fairly say, EVERYTHING HAPPENDS FOR A REASON. Theres much said about fate, there is a lot said about thinking too much. But the biggest lesson I learnt is that WE MAKE OUR OWN FATE.

Saturday night in many ways was the night of my life. Turning 21. Friends, family, relatives, those you;ve met before and those whom you basically cant recall at all. Each and everyone of them, Its always an honour. The world is a wonderful place and its filled with people. Everyone has their purpose in the life of another. Good or bad. Its either something to cherish or something to learn. I got to see family mixing with friends, friends mixing with friends. It’s a good mix but standing up there on that stage giving a speech reminded me of how much people played a part in my life. Even if it’s the smallest gesture from someone or even if its that big. Point is, everyone has something to teach us for life is an unending journey of learning and never a destination.

Being 21 makes me feel wiser in a lot of ways. I’m not saying wise because I just feel old and want to think so. But I believe in the lessons I have learnt through out these short years. The 1st would obviously be missed opportunities, the 2nd would be mistakes and the 3rd would be the consequences because of those mistakes. Its never wrong to make a mistake. We are human and we learn from it, after all. That guy who invented to light bulb failed 99 times before he actually got a chance to see the bright. The wisdom, no matter what happends, there is a reason behind it and we sure to find that out one day.

Another important lesson is the gift of being humble, to listen to understand to cope and above all, to be respectful of the beliefs of others and what each and everyone of them stand for. I still think, there will be no fights if someone actually mustered the strength, and a patience devoid of ego. All the world needs is to listen more, to understand and to communicate. For understanding will never come with imagination or presumption, but only through conversation and understanding. The war in Iraq, the stuff going on in Iran. I personally feel that if someone took the time to find a balance and compromise, all of this would not be happening and there is a firm belief that we can all learn to co-exist and do our parts. But enough about Iraq and Iran. Back to domestic reality.

With the happenings of Saturday and it al being put together, it just emphasizes to me how giving in and understanding and conversation and compromise can make something fragile become magically beautiful. I ask you, if everyone were to judge and live in their own set of rules, we would be a deadly competitive lot and we would end the very civilization destroyed by ego. Does that make us animals or worse?

Be kind, be humble, dream, have ambitions but respect the beliefs of others and always communicate and compromise. Its what I missed out on and its what I intend to do.
-And oo yes, I feel wisdom and I feel peaceful yet fiery motivation to GET UP AND TAKE CONTROL OF MY LIFE.

Its your life, take control over it and be HUMAN. Nothing will stop you.
Ambitions are only possible with peace of mind. What have you done lately?

21

2009-06-24T03:35:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time coming this post. There always a heck of a lot of things to say each time I blog and the frustrating part is my sheer laziness! But yes, as with every post the same thing will be said, What a few weeks it has been!

Its an amazing feeling to live your dream each and everyday regardless of how tired, worn out and stressed it makes you. I guess when you love something, youd do anything for it and if its bad, you do all you can to make it better and if its good, you do everything to extract something even better out of it. Its true, the past weeks have taught me a lot. Be it flying, be it about life, be it about a relationship, friendship, even about money!

My days have been all over the place. Nights filled with thoughts, days filled with adrenalin, dreams, aims. I guess I am never really happy with what I have, I always believe in doing more and aiming even higher and when a dream has come true, another just ignites within hence the call for an even bigger improvement.

Flying continues to amaze me with every flight. Not only do I work with a dream aircraft, but I also get to meet different Captains. I get to learn from them. Everyone in this airline has something about them which is cool. Some captains are quite laid back and precise, whilst there are some who are extremely meticulous about detail there are some who simply take it in as it comes and I admire everyone I have flown with so far. Thus far, its amazing to fly with everyone. Who says being 60 makes you a cranky old trout? The 60 year old guys are really experienced and every announcement, to the point that every word is engineered from experience, the way they conduct approaches, the way we get around weather, the take off, the landing the radio calls. Heck its amazing to hear all of theyre stories throughout their careers! All that’s left for me to tell them is..well..Not much. I only flew them little planes before this. That’s it.

There is no immense pressure on your shoulders but becomes more relaxed to fly and performance is better as well. Im done with my turn around in about 12mins now! Used to take 25mins during line training. A step forward undoubtedly has been made but its bad to rest on laurels. My landings are very much better now and the confidence level has gone up as well as getting used to the whole being up at 3am and going to bed at 8pm now. I need to perfect minor details and come up with those bloody smart decisions the more experience guys come up with. Its still a learning curve with every flight not only about the aircraft but also the people around it and ultimately the guest we carry and whose support we need to remain competitive with the big guns the likes of SIA and the local one, MAS. Its just scary seeing those 777s and 747s just grounded near the maintenance hangar in KLIA. What more getting emails from the guys to keep out chins up and to perform even better. Its positive pressure and it helps in other areas well. I’m a better driver now and I don’t get this long ‘ceramah’ for being late or for choosing the wrong lanes on the road..or the correct restaurants on dates hahahahaha..

Its equally unbelievable knowing I’m gonna be 21 month end June. I honestly feel the same, but my family and those around me think it’s a big deal. Whats so significant about 21? The past 21 years is just the PAST and whats important is the future. Its not a call for celebration but its every reason to push even harder and to improve in every area to be honest. The thought of how f*cked the past was for me and how awesome it is now fills me up with determination and thats the only thing i need. Gratefully lucky mum and dad are gonna have a party and its out of this world to have some people over then. The Airasia X boss is gonna be there! How awesome is that, I cant wait to spend time with the family, Limabravo and my mates! It’s a bigger buzz and its even more motivating.

Will be flying to Trichy tomorrow. When the route was out in December been looking forward to getting a shot at it, tomorrow will be another dream being lived. I’m actually flying a commercial airliner to India! Off to prepare paperwork now, ciao!

2009-05-31T21:23:00.000-07:00

Its finally here, this is HOME!

2009-05-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, and thanks for dropping by still. Its been a long time coming and finally I can tell you guys proudly, THE DREAM HAS COME TRUE! From a dreamer as a kid to getting my but whooped in flying school, through ground courses through type rating, simulator and line training, I am an Airasia pilot!!On the Airbus A320!!!How amazing does it sound?Well, words will not do it justice.

Its been a long journey and fairly so, a tough and the most grueling of my life! It’s a bloody good feeling I tell u to finally get this over and done with. Everything happends for a reason and the phases thus far have not only thought me about FLYING but it has thought me about LIFE as a whole. Its been a life changing experience really, from the way you manage yourself to how criticism is accepted. The will to fight and also that burning desire to make it right after a mistake. The same cant be said for my landings, but with every flight it just gets better and better and this brings reason for optimism.

I was posted to Kota Kinabalu for about 3 days due to the lack of pilots over there and I was lucky enough to get a chance to be based there for 3 days and to complete my final phase of line training with Captain Christophel Yong.- An amazing guy, fun to fly with and someone I’d idolize. One of the very few besides Captain Feroz. I’d really like to thank all my instructors from flying school to Airasia who have been with me throughout. Amazing guys, theyre not easily pleased! With every guy having different

Working for Airasia has been a journey. Since day one. To learn more about the culture and to know what we’re about. The motivation and the simplicity. Its just so me!! It took a bit of adapting, and to be more assertive in what you do. After all we are not MAS. We are Airasia and doing the impossible is what we’re all about. Its amazing because the very same philosophy applies to real life in handling situations and people and theyre lousy crap (im kidding), point is, with every experience we do come across, there is always something to learn from it which is why EVERYTHING HAPPENDS FOR A REASON.

The line check went close to perfect. One of my best performances and I’m very pleased. To come home jumping into dads arms was sweet. Its true that the call for celebration was there, BUT. There still is a lot of work to do, there are other parts of life you need to focus on and I definitely can be a better pilot knowledge wise, fitness wise, in every sense personally and mentally as well. So that’s gonna be the agenda for the next few months. For now we must not rest on our laurels but instead push harder. I’m just relieved its here and I can now enjoy the job and hopefully make gains in other areas as well. Thanks for all of your support, prayers, wishes and most importantly, thank you for YOU GUYS. I’m sure we’ll be flying higher and toasting to many more margaritas, partying even harder now haha

This promotion jut makes me even hungry for more. Even motivated, more confident. Most of us know what to do, but very few of us do what we know. God I’m living this dream! Nothing will stop me.

Dream the impossible, never take no for answer and believe, the power of belief is enourmous. Have you any dreams lately?

Have agreat week guys, will blog more soon. Once again thanks for dropping by and for your support. Take care and Cheers!

Dream alive

2009-05-13T06:03:00.000-07:00

On the bed, eyes wide open counting down to the time i wake up. The bath. That look in the mirror. The scent of the colonge that adorns the body and ahhh finally slipping on a shirt. Black pants. A tie thats black with the word Airasia.com. The wings. The epaulettes. All coming together to form the uniform that adorns this body to chase THE DREAM.

Its been a long time, much has happened and to those i have gained,lost, seen, heard, felt. This day marks the beginning of a dream and rightly so the quest for thirst, excellence, combined emotion and dreams and feeling through sentiments and values. Through the good and the bad. The day has come.

As a child holding a toy plane looking at the skies. Having a grin on my face and the feeling n knowledge in my heart. I want this. In the mind. The skills. Talking on the radio. Ears feel the atmospheric pressure of altitude. Hands fast at work. Legs on pedals. Eyes on the runway. The sense of acceleration. The lives of 180 souls. 6 crew. 1 heart living a dream. This is what i live for. What id die doing.

Final line check is hours away. This is a new beginning. Im taking control of my life. Im living this dream. God help me.

A day in the life

2009-04-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

Its been ages since the last blog post and honestly I must say, though I have been intensely busy and not having time by myside for a lot of things, I also will say this. I have been bloody lazy to blog!

Its like this thought that comes by each and every time a cool thing happens –‘’I’m going to blog today man!’’, it never really does happen because of the laziness that kicks in each and everytime I type and see words in front of my eyes. I’m not getting to the point now am I? Well, lets start.

Life as a whole has changed a lot and its getting to a point that I feel I’m personally changing. The way your thoughts are, the way you think, the choices and decisions you make, you have different priorities now that youre with a job and with a dream that’s being lived each and everyday. Sacrifices need to be made and so does planning.

Firstly you have absolutely NO TIME to yourself. I cant believe the amount of stress I’m under and the amount of work and effort that’s needed to be put it is immense and sometimes everything piles up to the point you ask yourself ‘’Whats happening, its all happening so fast and its so steep a mountain to climb’’. Line training as all the seniors say is THE MOST STRESSFUL THING YOU WILL EVER ENCOUNTER IN YOUR LIFE.. Line training isn’t stressful, but everything around it IS. For a flight that takes off at say 8am..I’m required to sign on 45MINUTES before flight time, that’s 7.15am. Seeing that I’m training. I need to be there 2 hours early to prepare and its not all there is to it, there is more, preparation starts the before the flight. Here we go.

Flight is scheduled for a Scheduled time of Departure(STD) on Wednesday at 7.45am. We usually do 4 sectors so typically it would be somethings like KUL-BKK-KUL-LGK-KUL….Its the day before, heres how it goes..

8PM(the night before): print out route manual, look at destination airport layouts and taxiways and radio frequencies and try calling a few seniors to find out more about the route and about special procedures about the route. For example, tips on the route. Every route is different and unique and has a different bit of challenges ranging from surroundings to things like weather patterns and Air traffic procedures. Boring you already?Well that’s pretty much what you prepare and print and read.

9.30PM- Fill up what you can for the following days paperwork example filling up dates, destination name, max take off weight(fixed), and writing your name on the loadsheet form and writing flight numbers.(basically things that are fixed already). I need to prepare 4 sets of these half filled documents and I put them into folders 1 to 4. Each for a sector.

10PM- Print out the VR(Voyage report)..a document containing the name of the captain ill be flying with and the flight attendance ill be working with for the flight. I fill up the date and the reporting times. Basically fill up whatever I can so to reduce columns to fill in the next day to avoid wasting time
11PM- before heading off to bed I look at a picture of the map of Asia, to know exactly where I’ll be taking the plane to. (Imagine not knowing the location of where ur flying to!)

---Reporting time for the 7.45am flight is 45mins before, so I need to sign on by 7am or else ill be considered late of AWOL. Anyways, for the line training phase you normally would go there 2 hours before reporting time. So I need to be there by 5am. I’ll write shortly about what we do there so early. So I need to plan what time to wake up and have breakfast and take into account the time taken to drive to the airport and to walk from the car park to the flight operations office.

I need to be there by 5 am, so this means leaving home by 4.15 at least to cater for 45mins time taken to drive from home to work. In order to do that I need to wake up by 3am. To shower, get dressed, have breakfast and to leave on time.

3AM(day of the flight)- Wake up, shower, get dressed, blablabla…

4.45am- I’m walking from the carpark to the office

4.55am- sign on at the computer and get straight to work

5am- Heres what I do:
1- Check the parking bay in which the aircraft is parked
2- Am I carrying Cargo besides baggage?, and if so, how much? Because the amount of fuel I’m allowed to carry will be based on how much Payload( People, baggage, and cargo) I;m carrying. Carry too much passengers and cargo and you will have only very little to play with in terms of fuel, meaning I mite not be able to carry enough of fuel to make 2 trips back without refueling. Remember, the price of fuel varies from state to state or even country. So if we can carry fuel for the return, then we do. Otherwise we refuel at the destination. Extra fuel is WEIGHT. So the formula is used Max takr off weight 73500-(predicted passenger loadf an baggage)=amount of fuel. 73500-aircraft empty weight-(weight of 135pax and 3 tonnes of cargo_=10200..this 10200KG is the weifht of fuel I can carry.
3- Collect the flight plan
4- Check the route weather
5- Check the notams(memos about airways we fly and airports we fly to, must check if the airports have problems or say if a runway is closed or if military activity is taking place at our time of arrival or departure)Basically news about the airports and airspace wer flying to for the day
6- Prepare the fuel chit based on the amount of fuel needed shown on the flight plan
7- Check if the flight plan entries are correct.
8- Compile the 4 flight plans and put them together with the prepared loadsheets and documents into each respective folders from the night before
9- Collect charts and go thru them and make sure the correct charts are taken for the airport wer gonna fly to.
10- Wait for Captain to come.
11- Brief Captain about all of the above. Captain chooses final fuel figure and then the friendly stewardess comes and we all shake hands n introduce ourselves for the day.
12- Walk to the aircraft
13- Order fuel/check aircraft
14- Start checking the systems onboard, setup the whole thing for the flight and route, get passenger breakup and wait for them to board
15- Briefing/instrument checks/and startup checks
16- Reqyest clearance,taxi,take off,cruise,descend,approach

That’s basically how its like. Will write more about what happends next. I’m already tired. But there you go. An Inside to what the blokes infront do.

And now for the PROs:

-You get to fly a multi-million dollar powerful Airbus A320!
-You get the feeling of speed and all that adrenalin rush
-You get thrown around by turbulence and weather
-You use every sense you possibly can for the flight and apply every bit of it, eyes, ears, hands, legs, mouth, nose, head, brain(EVERYTHING!)
-Meeting new people each day and flying to new places and seeing the smiles on peoples faces when they get on to the arms of relatives they fly safely into upon reaching theyre destination safely
-Seeing the sky and the earth and all its beauty
-You get to talk on the radio!
-I get paid to live my dream and do my hobby!how cool is that

Nothing beats this feeling above all, having the lives of 180 people solely rely on your skill, intelligence and capabilities. Knowing that you actually can fly a plane, get thrown around by weather, stress, pressure, people, time..Only to come back the next day and DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN with different situations coupled in

From dealing with passengers, to delays to bad weather to even the trickiest part of flying. I'd say ive got the best job in the world and though things your personal life away from it isnt tht perfect, given time i am very confident that i will learn from experience and that it will all fall into place. I'm just lucky to have the very few people around me that i hold so dearly to at the moment. Though some of those relationships may be strained like at home, I know I am determined to fix them someday. My family, friends...I'm always blessed. But I'm especially blessed with my girlfriend(princesssss) whose been the closest one and has been just so supportive, understanding, encouraging and selfless throughout these trying times.

I'm determined to find balance and to make it through.

This is the longest ive blogged!

Change

2009-03-30T07:01:00.000-07:00

Each time I blog in here, there is always something said about change. Now this post right here is probably the biggest change there ever will be. Is it for the good? Could it be for the worse? The answer of which I cant tell and to faith it shall be left.

Its been a fantastic experience, a torrid time if I may put some of it and an emotional rollercoaster on every front. Some things require a lot of attention, thought, energy and most of all it takes all the life out of you. As a kid, its been about this one dream. Every birthday, Christmas, every morning when you wake up, this is the one thing I’ve always dreamt about. Flying a commercial Jetliner. Last week I had the chance to do just that and believe me I felt overjoyed by it and overwhelmed but there is always another side to this dream that I never expected to feel. It’s the stress, the tasks, that workload you are under and the immense responsibility that you are under. The 25mins turn around feels like the weight of the world on your shoulders. If you think I’m over reacting then please bend over.

Good things always come with a catch, theres also a saying, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. I got mine and I feel emotionally week, mentally tired and personally, I feel nervous and tremored by it. This is what I life for this is what I’ve dreamt about all my life, no matter how hard its going to be or how much life this takes out of me, I will always fight for it.

In any walk of life, there is always this one thing you are willing to fight for, to give your all and to sacrifice. Through all the pain and sacrifices, not only have I realized and am living a dream, I have just discovered even more challenges and the added tasks and responsibilities. Changes have been made and put into places, its still being made. It freaks me out to bits! I just have to make these changes because in my heart some day I believe they will pay off. At the start of the year, I already said this will be the best most tough year ever. I had two options.

Be comfortable, have it easy and stay in the shell…that’s number 1

Number 2- Get out of the shell and go out there and be my own person

I’ve created number 3. To destroy this shell, to step out and be the very best you can extract from your soul. To fall, to bleed, to see what shit feels like and to rise above it and look back in a few years and know in the heart, you are a product of your own beliefs, mistakes, wisdom and above all. You are your own person. Anyone who disagrees with this can fuck off.

This post comes with a lot of fear, nervousness, but a lot of HOPE and BELIEF. Its good to dream.

I’m flying a 30million dollar Airbus A320 with 180 passengers at 37000feet in the sky doing 800kph, its crazy!! The pressure, the workload, the feeling! I cant describe it! I Jesus! OMG!
I’m LIVING THE DREAM!!!!

AsianExpress700

2009-03-08T01:26:00.000-08:00

DREAM- Just hours away from coming true. The first flight as a commercial Pilot. Its been a fucking crazy journey. After 3 years. I’m extremely determined and i'm motivated than ever before.

Its been way too long since July the 15th. Its time go get back up there and be in control. No more looking or gazing and day dreaming, it’s the real thing. God.

WOOOO!!!!!!!

Monday 8th March 2009 Take off 5am WMKK-WMSA-WMKK
Flight: AK700

Asian express 700!!

2009-03-02T06:58:00.001-08:00

The weekend has been relatively OK. Its been a pretty care-free past few days for me Since the skills test and that isn’t good. There still is a heck of a lot of things to read up on, research to do and the all powerful significant first flight(The endorsement) to go. I’m not a patient person and I do not intend to be, at least when it comes to work. Its easy to feel a little demotivated and a tad bit irritated waiting to be rostered in for the endorsement flight. There is a lack of instructors and aircraft as well(yes, it happens in the airlines as well!). On the other hand things haven’t been working out the way I had planned them to, effort doesn’t matter, it’s the end result. One can only hope and work towards it. The drag is laziness and discipline- when will I learn?

The frustrating part is not knowing what this week’s plans are. There is a lot of frustration but, the is a great deal of HOPE in place.

LimaBravo turns 20!

2009-02-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

The world is a funny place, people like you make everyday worth the fight. Supportive, beautiful, amazing, inspiring and ever so loving. Happy Birthday LimaBravo  I love you.

Loft and Skills :)

2009-02-24T06:48:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, its been as usual crazy over here but during the course this year has taken, I think its safe to say its been crazy for you guys as well in ways we find unreal to comprehend. It could be change, it could be a decision or am I the only one who feels that even normal things are starting to feel different now?

I’m done with the simulators(or Stimulator as some of you may call it haha.). There were 2 exams, LOFT and Skills. LOFT(Line Orientated Flight Test), its basically a test in which you are evaluated on your abilities to carry out a normal flight from KL to Phuket. They do throw in a few emergency scenarios here and there and the aim is to see how procedures both normal and abnormal fall into place on a flight. I had the pleasure of working with Captain David Tay (Our Professor), it went basically well and got some pretty good feedback and I’m pleased to say he was satisfied with my performance.

The skills test quantifies everything, from failures to normal flight with the core focus being DECISION MAKING. Flight plan is from KL to Penang. It wasn’t perfect to be honest, I made up for it by turning my weaknesses into strengths but sadly it turned one of my strengths into a weakness and it haunted me a little. The test stopped half way and the instructor pointed out the mistake. CRM!(Crew Resource Management), I was caught up in the moment and nearly screwed up the approach as I was so engrossed with doing everything on my own, basically didn’t keep the co pilot in the loop. The pressure got to the head a little but after the examiner Capt Arifin pointed it out, it went better and it got back into place. It was also the last flight working with Capt Ka Hong. Basically its been a steep learning curve already and I’m only glad it went well. With a lot of lessons and weaknesses and strengths learnt, I feel even optimistic and motivated for THE LINE!

It meant a lot that evening feeling the support of everyone especially Sally and even Cristeen! They were more excited than I was! It meant so much to me and I feel blessed for having such supportive people around me. When things weren’t going so well, its just amazing to have the same support and that same encouragement. I cant honestly find the words to describe Sunday night after the skills test looking at how difficult the simulator phase has been. I cant imagine how its gonna be after the first flight.

The first flight was supposedly wednesday at dawn, but its been pushed forward a little to I do not know when. It’s a little saddening as I was calmly pumped up but I’m just counting down the days to the first flight. This is it, that dream on the first day of flying school of finally taking to the skies in an A320 is finally coming true and the beautiful thing is that ITS NEXT! It’s only a matter of days till I touch the sky again. With the new call sign, Asian Express! Will fill you guys in on the first flight on my next post. For now its about being in the best shape I can.

I will be shedding more thoughts and ideas in the upcoming posts.

‘’we are ruled not by our hearts but by our brains. Well, once in a while our heart leads us the wrong way…hahaha’’ – Its scary but I think i'm starting to realise it.

Believe the unbelievable , dream the impossible and never take no for an answer - (Tony Fernandes, my boss)

16 random.headache.

2009-02-23T08:07:00.000-08:00

‘’Rules: Once you've been tagged, you have to write a post with sixteen random things, habits or weird things about yourself. At the end, choose five people to be tagged, listing their names and . Don't forget to leave a comment telling them that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. You can't tag the person who tagged you’’(Roger, ok..16)

1. I love the smell that comes out of the Car air conditioner when you first switch it on.

2. Each time I listen to a love song, automatically in my head I think of flying a plane on a cloud-less night heading towards the sun

3. Songs get stuck in my head very easily, particularly the old Indian songs my grandma used to play on her radio, it’s the main reason I hate them really.

4. I’m a VERY indecisive person particularly when it comes to going out, eating out oh and dont get me started with menus

5. To fall asleep at night, I imagine being on a bunk bed on a plane on a long haul flight with dim lights and with 13 hours to go on the clock.

6. I cant drink much alcohol and when I do it has to be sweet.

7. I think speeding on the highway to work and with loud fast music in my ears is one of the best feelings in the world!

8. I sometimes tear when I look at planes land or take off. It gets very sentimental.

9. The TV in my room is RARELY ON that the cable decoder actually freezes/jams/hangs because its barely used. Basically each rare occasion I’m having to switch off the main power and ON again.

10. I ask other’s opinion on things that I pick to only do the OPPOSITE of what’s told. Basically I love going against what’s told. I get some form of joy from that. Don’t ask why but it feels good.

11. I love the way dogs walk. Particularly stray dogs. I find it very amusing

12. I hate fine dining.

13. I remove the pickle from my BIGMAC

14. My definition of genuine happiness and peace is flying a plane. It is the love of my life, basically i'd call it MY LIFE.

15. I do not believe in tradition. It annoys me.

16. My mind is always thinking about something. It feels miserable because in a single night of sleep, I get 4-7 different dreams. The annoying thing is that I forget them when I wake up.

That’s 16.

woo

2009-02-16T04:34:00.000-08:00

A sickening flu. Change of instructor and with 4 Sims to go before it hits the real deal. Its excitement at its very best-yes! I love my job.

Uncle William (i forgot his birthday- 12Feb 2009)

2009-02-12T07:55:00.000-08:00

The jokes we shared and the conversations we have still are in mind and will never be forgotten. Though you lived in Sungai Petani and I in KL. We always met at the rare family get-togethers(funerals included), and each time i see you its a joy. Not because i feel that way now that ur dead, but its how its always been

-You loved eating crabs..heck u eat so much till it scares me.
-You had this funny way of talking and you were always excited and filled with zest which always amused me
-When mum and dad were so pissed chasing me with the rotan and grandma with the broom stick, id run to you for cover and youd just chase them away.
-One of the first to have held me in your arms when i was born,
-You watched me grow, you gave me your support and prayer and offering

..Grandpa William, I love you and I will miss you and you're support will always be part of me in all i do. I'm glad i made you proud and did you good. I never expected you to leave so soon. Heck you're yet to fly onboard our Airbus! Youve been thru alot yet you stay so happy, passionate, humble and ever so loving. It doesnt matter where, but wherever you were, there was always a reason to be happy, just by your presence.

With you i'm blessed. Till we meet someday.

FFS4

2009-02-08T02:07:00.000-08:00

It goes on as it never ends...

FFS1,2,3,4,(5),6,7,7A,LOFT,Skill test

I'm at 5. Started off quite bad but getting there. The last 2 sims were an upward trend. Need to keep it up. Nothing much to add guys. Good week ahead- cheers!!

Viola

2009-01-31T20:15:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, its been a pretty interesting week,as always. MFTD did not end very well though. It was more of frustration than the actual relief of completing just another phase. But its always a case of learing from your mistakes. Amazing to learn new things about the love of me life at the moment, The Airbus 320. Life has been all about work work and more work and oo yeah- started full flight Simulator!

I felt like a kid at a toys'r'us during a christmas sale! It was an emotional moment and i've always admired the way pilots work in the cockpit with all the buttons and lights and the whole working as a team. I always would look up them. I always will.. But this week, to do it and experience it on my own is just unbelievable. Pushing the thrust levers to max power on take off is an adrenalin rush all over the body. I had this wide grin on my face and my throat swelled and it was then i even started yawning. Its unreal. Niothing beats this feeling.

Goes without saying its an FUCKING good thing to work with. Its emotional because its as close to the real aircraft as anything ever gets! Essentially a chamber with the actual cockpit itself with the switches and lights and the LCDs. Above all, the controls actually work!! With real ATC!.Amazing piece of technology and it brings bigger motivation because I’m just 1 step away from the big dream. It can be hard and grueling with odd working hours. By hook or by crook. It will happen

Its beeen a horrible weekend really, I’m just desperate to fly again and to return to work and come back fighting. NOTHING will stand in my way. Like I said, this is all I’ve got to hold on to. There’s a lot of hard work and discipline to live up to not only with this, but with gym and people as well. Discipline has been the problem lately, my performances in the sim has not been that good. I intend to do just that this week.

Made a new friend last night, amazing person who got me thinking a lot. Shes very opinionated and very ambitious for an 18 year old. Its not everyday conversations like that happen. It just highlighted to me how it can be with a little belief and ambition that anything is possible.

Hope the year of the OX goes well for each and every one of you. It’s a year of hope, ambition, survival for some of us in this economy I’m yet to fully understand and to stand firm in the believe that there is a future and that we never stop believing in it. Dreams come true.

Enjoy the pictures. =) Have a great week ahead and yes pink panther is on the 5th!! Anyone wanna tag along? Friday night.

18-1

2009-01-18T04:48:00.000-08:00

Its been ages since I’ve caught up with some of you. A LOT has been happening. Seeing that I’m blogging about it, yes I’m a little baulked out.

The Airbus continues to amaze me with its level of the technology this thing has. Its fantastic!

Monday: Performance (Classroom)- This is where you learn the various factors affecting aircraft performance such as how the runway length, weight, temperature, altitude, etc can affect your aircraft performance in flight. Its really interesting to learn indept.

Tuesday: (exam lah)..made it through

Wed: MFTD a tough day. But picked up quite abit

Thursday: A bad day really, kept making mistakes and was totally out of knowledge as i did not prepare properly, hence the confusion. Stressful because its frustrating. A headache and just feel too good at all. The toughest day thus far. But learnt a heck of a lot from the mistakes.

Friday: Exam for the MFTD phase 1. Went quite well and the lessons learnt from mistakes yesterday paid off a lot today. Monday we start abnormal aircraft operations. Cleared to progress further.

The weekend has been pretty OK. Got quite abit of sleep in, been eating quite OK and got to spend time with my family and see a few friends. Finally went to the gym and did some cardio.

Looking ahead, we’ll be doing a lot of emergency cockpit stuff this week. Engine failures, hydraulic failures, basically the abnormal operations of the A320. Going to try and fit some time for gym as well. Hopefully spend more time with people. There should be no such thing as being too busy.

As I said, the fight goes on. NOTHING in this world that’s worth having comes easy. Its times like these when really, I think back to the very few yet significant words

-Dare to dream
-Make your dreams come true
-Never take no for an answer….And BELIEVE..the power of belief is enormous.

It takes a lot out of you. But this is what drives me. The day I get to fly that red plane, all that power, all those lights, gadgets, the SPEED the vibrations the blue sky all rushing towards you at 800kph. That is what I live for and what I’ll always fight for. Hope this week goes well. Talk soon.

m6

2009-01-15T08:09:00.000-08:00

To say the past few days has been tiring is a bloody understatement. Never in my life have I had to work so hard and to do it consistently on a day to day basis. From time management to the actual task itself. Its been an amazing experience to work with the Airbus A320.

Coming from flying school the transition isn’t really a walk in the park. Its new procedures everyday and what we learn yesterday becomes the base for today..So its an accumulative flow of information which can be pretty demanding. Coming from flying school flying a DA42, 200 flying hours to an airline flying the Airbus A320. It’s a steep learning curve and the most tiring course but using that as a reason to be complacent and to feel pressured is utter bullshit.

Rick: You're a professional, you're and airline pilot now

...A reality which is yet to set in.

Headache, I’m physically not feeling well, mentally worn out, emotionally unaware and above all, I’ve never felt so focused in my entire life. Its an emotional rollercoaster, whatever happens, you need to suck it up and perform.

I have tried to be all relaxed and calm. Failed miserably. The pain in my head and that tightness. Apparently it says it all on my face, i couldnt be bothered by how i feel or how i look. I'll do everthing it takes. This feeling in my head.- Its good shit!

Pictures

2009-01-11T08:36:00.000-08:00

MFTD1

2009-01-06T06:53:00.000-08:00

Its day 2 of the MFTDs and been quite positive. Its one of those things where you work hard for it, perform well and u get really encouraging feedback from the chiefs. Working with a Captain as my team mate is going quite good too. We get on really well and though its been tough to grasp and adapt, we seem to work very well n the important thing is being able to keep up. He’s an ex Singapore Airlines A340 pilot!! He’s 30 and I’m only 21! But hes cool, hes got flying hours and valuable experience under his belt. We work well together so that’s good, hopefully it continues.

Its quite tiring, When the day is done and when I get into my car on the drive home, it hits me,- SHIT, It isn’t easy. Its mentally tiring. In a way you are depressed. A tear comes down the eyes on the drive home. Its gonna take a lot of effort, focus, hard work. I have quite a shit attention span and I’m known to be lazy. I hope this holds up.

I’m having to manage my sleep patterns to have my body work at its peak during sim and eventually, when we fly the real aircraft. Concentration is important so getting adequate sleep at the right time is therefore important. I get to have heavy meals to last me 5 or 6 hours! Its obviously fun when things are going well, takes one bad day to bring out all the F words and cracked furniture. There is so much energy running through me- I cant sleep.

Will be doing 1800-2330 tomorrow

PS: Revenge is sweet.

T1

2009-01-05T03:43:00.000-08:00

The year 2009 is here and its already the end of the first day. I was quite surprised at the level of pessimism there is around. Without a doubt, there is a looming threat of recession on the economy which, to be honest I don’t understand at all and it makes me feel a little stupid because its all over the news and it has started to affect other things as well. Automakers are going bust, F1 teams are folding and people are talking about pay cuts. To make matters a little more confusing, the price of fuel is coming down and so is roti canai! The prices are indeed coming down. I don’t understand things like the stock market. As I said, i’m trying to come to grips with it. It feels stupid not understanding it sometimes.

Its been really great to be back working again. Its amazing to be chosen this quick for the type rating course on the Airbus A320! It feels like a dream that’s come true and it just fires me up each time I think about it. Seeing that red plane fly over the skies, wherever I may be, in the city, at home thru my window or if its on the highway in the car. Looking at it soaring above the sky. It feels amazing but its always a mistake to be emotional about something. This weeks schedule is quite hectic. I’ll be working Mon-Fri and each time we have 4hr MFTD/FMGS(Maintenance flight training device/Flight management system) sessions- the most tiring to date. Plus there will be days where ill have to be in Sepang by 6.30am, which means having to wake up at 5am. Its actually exciting but put it into practice and it will for sure be a handful. Plans will continue and ive got a fitness plan to stick to. The aim- No flab’s on the uniform come the first flight!

Its been a sad year in some ways for me. The people around me shape my world and lately its not been going good for some. Its hard losing something, particularly when its someone dear and close to you. You miss their presence, the warmth, above all the mere existence is now a change. Life is unfair, each and everyday no matter how tough the journey may be no matter how weak and sad, the grief, the pain, through all the suffering and the millions of the chills it sends down the spine. The fight will go on. For we’re coded for failure, we are destined to win.

Expecting a tough week.

Goodbye 2008

2008-12-31T04:59:00.000-08:00

I was going to write a long review about 08, i screwed it up. I now realise the clock moves forwards, not backwards. We've got work to do. This is THE year. No holding back, no regrets. Just dreams and the balls to chase them.

Heres to wishing everyone a happy 2009.

Jon.